Other than looks and the fact the volume slider works right, they sound the same* and feel the same. I didn't have to pay anything and they didn't ask for the old pair to be sent back.

*I haven't had but a very small mount of time to listen to the new pair, listened to 3 songs and didn't do a real comparison, I had to watch my Cardinals beat providence then win the Sugar Bowl. I'll give them both a good listen, but first impression was that they sound the same.

I was just going to clip off the mic/volume slider and reterminate, it really seems like a difficult task to get to the main cable after seeing the insides of the other pair. Getting the pads off the "music seal" pair seems sketchy, though I would hope the "music seal" trim is just held in with clips and can be carefully popped off, I really didn't try too hard but I did pry at it a bit with a guitar pick and it's definitely on there pretty good. Might be able to unscrew the plastic plate from the headband, release the metal adjuster, then take it off the post that holds the driver housing on, then it looks like the post might separate along a seam.

I listened to both pairs a bit and did sense some differences in both fit and sound, but nothing I couldn't chalk up to one pair being fresh from the box with a competent volume slider and the other having had 3 months of fairly heavy use. New pair seemed stiffer in fit and the pads felt slightly stiffer, while the sound was a bit smoother on the old pair. Sound could have been contributed simply to burn in or placebo, depending on your philosophical bent, no way to say for sure since the old pair definitely has a L/R imbalance presumably from the bad volume slider so it's impossible to do a blind listen.

It wasn't hard, just convoluted. I would rather shoot off an email in two minutes than spend an hour on the phone. On Philips' website they have it split off into different product types, some had email and phone, some had phone and chat, others just had phone numbers. It took maybe 15 minutes of digging before I found an email address that wasn't tied to some other product line. Headphones had (at the time) closed chat and a phone number to offices that were closed.

It doesn't take but a minute to find the contact page, just nothing by email for headphones.

I received my replacement pair today, they are the same as Burns11's pair. The old pair didn't have removable pads, but the new pair does. Everything sounds great and the volume slider stays at max volume.

So I called Phillips about getting a replacement, I have some balance issues as well. After I posted they told me they were sending me a new pair, a couple of days ago they called and said they are out of them and would cut me a check for the purchase price. They were a gift and paid with cash over 6 months ago, so no receipt . Long story short, they offered me a check for "cost to manufacture", $27.77. They told me to recycle them at my nearest electronics center, but they will probably be going under the knife soon, lol.

So I called Phillips about getting a replacement, I have some balance issues as well. After I posted they told me they were sending me a new pair, a couple of days ago they called and said they are out of them and would cut me a check for the purchase price. They were a gift and paid with cash over 6 months ago, so no receipt . Long story short, they offered me a check for "cost to manufacture", $27.77. They told me to recycle them at my nearest electronics center, but they will probably be going under the knife soon, lol.

-Erik

Funnily enough, my second pair completely lost sound on the left side the other day. I called Philips and they said another pair was on its way, so I guess we'll see!